"Everyone Is Hiring," but it's Still Hard to Find a Job

We have all heard the news about the ongoing labor shortage and that jobs are available everywhere. If you tell someone you are looking for a job, you will often receive the response that "everywhere is hiring right now." While it certainly seems that way, I can tell you this is not the case, or at least that employers are unwilling to hire just anyone, even if they are perfectly qualified.

Even with a labor shortage, companies make high demands with low pay and are still highly selective in their hiring process. Additionally, there is a disconnect between corporate and stores with their hiring needs, resulting in job openings that are not actually open. Overall, no one is winning in this situation, and the stigma that one is only unemployed right now because one is lazy does not help.

I speak primarily from my own experience, though I do have friends looking for better jobs, or at least jobs that are not the terrible ones they currently have and hate. I felt forced to leave my job at the beginning of March 2022 due to medical issues caused by my work environment and a boss who managed to skirt OSHA regulations without consequences. Since leaving that job, I have applied to at least 35 positions: half of them remote, half of them local. Of those 35-plus jobs, only one hired me, and that one, a freelance writing job, turned out to be not worth it as I averaged a mere $6 an hour at best. Had I known that I would apply to many more positions without any response, I might have kept the sweatshop writing job that did not pay enough to cover groceries for the week.

Since January 2020, before the pandemic was widespread, I have applied to at least 103 jobs with 86 different employers. That January, I decided to leave my salaried position as a store manager, though if I knew how things would go, mainly COVID-19, I would have just stayed with that job. I was not too fond of it and was miserable, but at least it was enough income to support my household, even though they paid me less than my peers.

Even with years of experience, it seems I am not good enough for many jobs in my area; that is when I can find jobs that are not requiring a Bachelor's or Master's Degree for a low-paying position. I only have an Associate's since that was what most management jobs required when I sought to change my earning potential. I know I could continue my education, but I honestly do not want to go deeper into debt for jobs that will then require a Master's Degree or, as is common now, many years of experience. I would love to get my MBA…if it did not come with a mountain of debt and an unsure future.

Entry-level jobs now require years of experience, making it hard to change careers, or rather "industries" as "careers" have mostly ceased to exist. Jobs in data entry, bookkeeping, and even office administrator or assistant positions usually require years of experience. If you are like me and find yourself unable to perform your usual work and need to change industries, you will probably struggle to get into something else. Even if you have some training and certification, it is not enough - they want professional experience from a paid position.

Recently, a woman who works for the city where I live contacted me about a position with Children and Youth Services. She thought I would be a good fit for their open fiscal position because of my education and experience. I promptly applied and was rejected over a week later because I am "not qualified" for the job, even though a hiring manager thought I might be a good fit. I simply do not have the years of experience they want nor the level of accounting credits. I have my own business and maintain all spreadsheets and financial data, but that counts for nothing in the employment industry because I answer only to myself and the tax agencies.

I had applied for a position with one of the corporate home and garden stores I heard was desperate for workers. I took their assessment and received an email days later that I was selected to move to the next level in the hiring process. I then received another email with a job offer - no interview needed - and to log in and accept the position. I of course did this immediately, but the system claimed there were no open positions, stating they had just filled the last one. The next day, I received a second email reminding me to accept the job and received the same "last position just filled" message after logging in. There are signs all throughout the store to apply and a list of positions in which they need help. So…they are hiring but do not have any open positions.

There were a few positions in the area that, after applying, they directed you to apply to a location in another city, likely meaning that they were not hiring in the area. This same scenario also happened to my friend with another company. It certainly doesn't make sense to travel an hour to a job that is not even going to pay $15 an hour, especially with gas prices on the rise. The numerous other jobs I applied to over the past few months have mostly just been ignored. Remote jobs often give you a yes or no, though it might take a few months to get a response. The local jobs leave you forever wondering if your application or resumé is still under consideration, if they are too lazy to read it, or if they are even paying attention to their job listings.

I wish I were one of those people who could just work in a warehouse for $25 an hour, but I physically cannot do so. It is incredibly disheartening to keep applying to jobs and hearing nothing or that you are not good enough, even with years of experience. I never even heard back from the local Wal-Mart for one position and failed the assessment for another. I have store manager experience, but that isn't enough to be a supervisor at a Wal-Mart.

Then there are the jobs to which you apply and later see them reappear in the job feed, meaning that they are still "urgently hiring," but you know now that you are not good enough for them. It makes you wonder how many of these places are hiring versus how many will claim they are "short-staffed" and enjoy the extra profits from keeping a tight payroll.

And so I continue to apply in vain, hoping that eventually, I will land any job to help keep my pets fed and a roof over their heads.